"Welcome back to the Dark Arts. Many of you will be under the misguided notion that you understand the dark arts. I assure you, that is not the case. There is a reason why magical defense has been split into dark arts and defense against the dark arts in your fourth year," he drawled quietly, though in the silence of the classroom it carried its significant weight. "Dark magic is based on intent, the desire to harm. There is a reason why over eight in ten of you will not make it past this year. While the first part of the year was spent on learning the motions behind various spells, such is no guarantee one will succeed in the dark arts."
Taking out a box, he drew his wand. "There are three unforgivables. Imperio!"
The puppy danced on the table, causing several students to laugh. Harry merely watched with morbid curiosity. While inferior to the mind arts, he could certainly see the appeal, especially given legilimency at an ability level to allow for total control of another was so rare as to be deemed effectively impossible.
"Do you believe it is humorous to be subjected to the total control of another individual?" he hissed, causing many to reel back. "I could make you commit the unspeakable, strip you into a husk of your former self through the spell, and you would follow along happily under the imperius. Some will have you believe that the spell can be cast for noble purposes. Those people are fools. The imperius requires a complete desire to control, nothing less."
"Crucio," he cast next, the red spell striking the puppy and causing it to contort and yet out pained whimpers. He saw several of his classmates look distinctly ill, yet he himself still merely had a morbid curiosity. "Causes the feeling of nerves being set on fire. To cast it requires the desire to induce pain."
"Professor?"
"Does the spell require you to feel a desire to induce pain on the target, or would a general desire to induce pain be sufficient?" Harry proffered. Several other classmates shot him horrified looks, though the professor merely looked amused.
"At least one of you is less dimwitted than the others, it seems," he drawled. "To answer your question, mister White, you need only feel the desire to cause pain to one entity. Then simply channel the hate you feel for that entity when you wish to cast the curse."
"Thank you professor," Harry acknowledged, synthesising the answer. Professor Ivarin merely inclined his head.
"And can you tell me the final spell, mister White?"
A memory flashed in Harry's mind, before he quickly quashed it.
"Avada Kedavra, the killing curse, only one known survivor," he answered. The professor nodded, looking distinctly irritated.
"Indeed. Rose Lily Potter, better known as the girl-who-lived, is the only known survivor of the curse, though how has never quite been explained."
"What do you believe happened, sir?" one of the students blurted out, causing a spatter of murmurs to break out. These quietened at Ivarin's withering glare.
"Seeing as you saw fit to ask a stupid question, I believe five inches on two distinct theories on what happened from each of you will be in order," he drawled, though no one dared to outwardly show their displeasure. "With that said...if I had to guess, I would venture it would be some sort of ritual magic by the Lady Potter, who was an unspeakable and specialised in such magics. But enough of this speculative nonsense. As mister White pointed out, the killing curse, the final three of the unforgivables. Avada Kedavra."
The puppy instantly ceased its motions, falling limp over. Several students looked ill, and one boy was quietly sobbing.
"The killing curse...a true wonder of magic. Any deluded fool could eventually produce a green flash of light...yet a true killing curse is far more than that," he lectured. "The killing curse tears the soul from the body, and in truth is considered a weak form of soul magic. It is because of this, that no shield is capable of deflecting or absorbing it."
Harry raised a hand, and Ivarin lazily pointed at him. "Professor, would manifesting sufficient willpower to live potentially rebuff a killing curse?"
"And you have just lost the modicum of respect I found for you, mister White. Do you truly believe that its victims just became suicidal when they died? But I suspect you have more, so let's see what drabble you'll spew."
"It could be because of the curse's reputation. When most see the killing curse, they believe it is unavoidable and thus subconsciously resign themselves to the fact they died. A self-fulfilling prophecy."
"Ah...I had heard from Pinald of your speculations on magic," the professor mused thoughtfully. "It would certainly make sense...take five points for a...passable theory, even if I find it highly unlikely."
Harry decided not to push the issue further, merely acknowledging with an incline of his head.
"I do not expect any of you to be able to cast the curse successfully, but I shall make an offer. Any of you able to cast a crucio on me will earn a mastery. If you fail, however, I shall cast it on you," the professor ordered. It was so obviously bait, that Harry could not believe his eyes when a girl rose up, wand in hand, clearly wishing to impress the professor.
"Crucio," she cast, the red spell striking Ivarin. He briefly frowned, before snarling.
"The only pain I felt was from witnessing such a pathetic attempt! Crucio!" Ivarin bellowed, the curse striking the girl and causing her to collapse to the floor, screaming in pain. Even if he lifted the curse immediately, though the girl continued to wheeze, the aftershocks still coursing through her body. "Anyone else?"
Harry briefly toyed with the idea, but to tip his hand so early wouldn't do, so he merely schooled his face to impassiveness.
"I thought not. Right now, you know the wand motions and the incantation, but you will remains too weak. Dark magic, more than most other types, requires intent. Most of you could do nothing more than give me a tickle even if you funneled what little bits of hate you had within your miserable skulls. Now...it seems our lesson is at an end. Another five feet of parchment on how to defend against the unforgivables."
The class quickly left the room, eager to get away from the professor. Harry walked briskly down the three flights of stairs to arrive at the transfiguration level, briefly stopping to switch out his books before hurrying along to the transfiguration classroom. Entering, he noticed most of the seats were taken, though he couldn't help but smile when Katerina waved him over, gesturing to a seat she had saved him near the back of the class.
"How was the dark arts?" she offered sympathetically. He shrugged.
"Intense, but Ivarin is very knowledgeable."
"Of course he is, he was one of Grindelwald's lieutenants," Katerina scowled. "He's probably third to only Vinda Rosier and Alson Krafft in the ranks. He switched sides near the end of the war, claiming he could not stand by the atrocities that Grindelwald committed, but many doubt his intentions."
"How is he allowed to curse students? Shouldn't the oaths stop him from doing that?"
"I...look, keep this between us, but teachers' oaths prevent a professor from unfairly targeting any student, with some tolerance, to prevent family feuds from getting out of hand here. But I bet Ivarin made you curse him first before he cursed you back?" At Harry's nod, she chuckled. "At which point it would be an educational exercise and probably scrape by the limits of the oaths in hurting students."
"I see," Harry mused, deciding to watch his step around Ivarin in the future. Their conversation was interrupted when the professor entered the classroom.
"Which one of you is the transfer?" she called out. Harry raised his hand. "Ah, mister White, welcome to my class. I am professor Amanda Hurst. I hear that you specialise in battle transfiguration?"
"I do ma'am," Harry confirmed, receiving a scrutinising look from the professor.
"Then I suppose you won't mind if I ask for you to face me in a duel?"
"It would be an honour to face a battle transfigurator veteran such as yourself, ma'am," Harry inclined his head, causing her widen in surprise. "I must confess myself quite the fan."
"Really now?" the professor laughed as he stepped up, levitating several tables and chairs over before raising some protective wards while the other students crowded around watching. "You're probably one of few students to even know about the circuit."
"Considering your defeat of Vasel, I would ask you not to transfigure me, if at all possible," he joked, causing her to snort, even as a blush crept up her neck.
"Don't annoy me, and we won't have to find out, will we now? You can begin when ready."
Harry slashed his wand, animating the tables and chairs into stone golems that lumbered towards the professor. With wry amusement, she conjured several ropes and tangled them around the golems, before constricting them and causing them to crumble. Banishing some rubble at him, she transfigured them mid-air into knives, which Harry conjured a stone barrier against to absorb all the blades, before banishing the wall of rock towards her.
With a laugh, she danced out of the way, sending a blast of water at him. Amused, he waved his wand, causing the water to circle around as it bent to his will over hers, and wrapped her in a cocoon of water. She struggled to float out of it, until he released the water, allowing her to land back on the floor. She froze several shards of the ice, and sent them to him, though the slight decrease in viciousness belayed her shock. He allowed them to wrap around him, announcing, "I concede."
"An excellent duel," she complemented, eyeing him almost hungrily as she vanished the ice. The students around clapped, and both bowed. "That, students, is what I hope you will all one day achieve. Speed and precision. Mister White, you may take a seat."
"Thank you, professor," he bowed, before returning to his seat. "That was fun."
"You're something else, aren't you? Just what other secrets do you hold, I wonder," Katerina chuckled. "You're not injured, are you?"
"Nothing beyond a bruised ego," he chuckled. She frowned.
"That was nothing to scoff at, for a master like her to take so long to overpower your will on the water is an impressive feat," she complimented. He acknowledged this with an incline of his head, not feeling the need to correct her assumptions
"Right...seeing as everyone is so excited and we're a bit ahead of the curriculum, I see no reason why we can't take one lesson to discuss a bit on battle transfiguration," she proposed, causing cheers from most in the class. "Let's start with the basics, what are the two tenants of transfiguration?"
"Definition and intent," the class chorused, causing her to nod happily.
"Exactly, however, there is a third element that is less talked about," she lectured, writing 'speed' on the board. "In normal transfiguration, you can take as long as you like doing such, but in battle, you need to discard such a philosophy. Whether your transfiguration of a bear has the perfectly shaped nose will not impact its ability to rampage against an opponent. This is not to say definition is unimportant, for the more well defined a transfiguration is, the harder it is to alter through the Maler principle of stasisity. However, speed is far more important. Can anyone tell me why? Miss Zakharov?"
"Because in a duel the one who strikes first has an advantage in dictating the pace of battle."
"Excellent, take a point," the professor nodded. "In a duel, points do not come from how perfect your transfigurations or conjurations are, they come from winning. Thus in combat transfiguration, you must discard a desire for perfection, and instead find a balance. Can anyone provide me with any historic examples of where speed won out?"
A few hands shot up, and she pointed towards one of the boys. "The battle of Lyon,"
"Excellent, take a point. The famous duel between general Hamill and general Avery, perhaps one of the most famous between two transfiguration masters. Now for an example of where speed did not matter so much?"
All the hands reluctantly dropped down, causing Harry to raise his hand. "Mister White?"
"Dumbledore's transfiguration of rubble into giant golems. Even for a master such as he it could take several minutes for each, yet a single one could crush an army because they were so well defined and protected."
"Excellent," she applauded, "take two points. Now, does anyone want to tell me what the advantages and disadvantages of transfiguration in a duel are?"
Several hands raised, and she pointed at a girl almost bouncing up and down in excitement. "Transfiguration requires more focus compared to most charms and takes longer to manifest, meaning in a duel, with few exceptions, it's likely preferable to use charms. This is why duels have to be strictly limited to transfiguration for transfiguration duels to happen in any regularity. However, transfiguration provides a great deal of flexibility and is often an unexpected avenue of attack because of the aforementioned weaknesses."
"Excellent, take two points for such an articulate answer," professor Hurst commended, causing the girl to beam.
"And I do believe it is time, but seeing such unusual enthusiasm for my subject, I'll recommend a few books on the subject." She scribed several titles on the board, and most students jotted them down, thanking the professor as they left. Discreetly, she waved for Harry to stay.
"I'll wait for you in the common room," Katerina promised, leaving after he nodded thankfully. Once she had left and the door shut, leaving only Harry and the professor in the room, she jabbed a finger at him.
"You let me win, you were just waiting for me to conjure water," she accused. He shrugged.
"From a certain perspective. Neither of us went all out, that wasn't the point, professor. Besides, it's your signature spell, isn't it?"
"Fair point," she conceded, "but that still leaves me with the question of what to do with you. You see, your speed and precision were good, but the definition work on some of your spells, particularly the golem, was adequate at best. You seem to have a preference for conjuration."
"I do," he admitted. "It's probably why I was assigned to this year level, because my casting is skilled enough to be beyond fifth year, but fundamentally wrong for the purposes of the curriculum."
"You'd be right in that. Between us, I only managed an Exceeds Expectations in my NEWTS," she admitted wryly. "The proficiency you demonstrated would be at honour for an end of year assessment, but unfortunately the ICW assessments don't recognise such achievements."
"Better to have a useful life skill than to get some letter on a piece of paper, no?" he questioned, causing her to chuckle.
"You and I...I think we're going to get along fabulously. Mark your calendar, Thursday afternoons, we're going to be practising battle transfiguration," she licked her lips, and he couldn't help but shudder internally even as he blew her a kiss before leaving the room, her laughter echoing in the hallway as he left.
Continuing down the hallway, he entered the common room to see that Katerina was on the edge of her seat, clearly waiting for him. Sedately, and hiding an amused smile, he took his time setting down his bags before joining her on the sofa.
"What did Hurst want?" Katerina queried. "You aren't in trouble, are you?"
"On the contrary, she wanted to provide me with some extra lessons," Harry assured. "It seems my Thursday afternoons are now taken."
"We should get started, Ivarin's been in a bad mood, he gave us five inches on fuelling intent after some idiot couldn't answer the most basic questions," she sighed. Pulling out some parchment, he began scribbling down an answer for Ivarin's homework. She glanced over and quirked an eyebrow, "Ivarin too?"
"I don't think he likes me," Harry mused. "Anyways, we have four essays due, five inches each."
"Ouch," she winced sympathetically, before looking up at the sound of furious scribbling. "You write very fast."
"Muggle pen design, much more efficient. I'm not going to deign myself with a quill," he scoffed, proffering one to her. She shook her head and he pocketed it amusedly, all the while still writing with his right hand. "Have you thought about what you're going to for your project?"
"Yep. I know for the dark arts, I'm planning to demonstrate the traumata curse. It's going to be hard, but I think I can get it."
"Show me," he offered. She looked at him as though he were insane, and he sighed. "I am trained to resist such magics. I doubt you could make me flinch."
"Fine, if you insist," she sighed uneasily, pointing her wand towards him and incanting, "traumata."
He felt a ping against his occlumency shields, and sighed, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. "Is that...it?"
"What? I cast it on a classmate and they were bawling on the floor!" she exclaimed incredulously.
"Really?" Harry scoffed. "I couldn't feel a thing. Try again!"
"Traumata," she incanted, this time far more determined. He felt it this time, a faint brush against him. She stared at him in shock. "How…"
"I told you, I'm resistant. This is better, but still not good enough. You need to feel fear."
"How?" she demanded tiredly. Harry adopted a serious look, projecting his aura over the room, thick and oozing, pressing against her uncomfortably. She stiffened as he walked over towards her, his eyes glowing slightly green.
"Tell me, what do you fear, Katerina? Do you fear losing your family? Do you fear losing your magic? No...I think...you fear being alone, don't you?" he drawled softly, locking gazes with her as he observed her shaking. "Tell me, Katerina, who would want to be with weak, useless you? Do you think that I'm here because I truly care?"
"Traumata!" she lashed out angrily, the jet black spell latching onto him. This time, he felt it, a flash of his fear, before he quickly quashed it instinctually. Taking a deep breath, he reigned in his aura, nodding at her.
"Much better."
"What in Morgana's name was that?" she demanded. Harry shrugged.
"You were never going to get the spell right otherwise. I saw a method to help you and took it."
"Those things...it felt so real...do you…"
"Am I only here because I want to use you?" he asked, and she nodded ashamed. "Please, I could probably have joined any clique I wanted and been fine. I chose to stay with you, Katerina. Do you know why?"
She shook her head.
"Because you are different from them. And perhaps more than most, you could hope to understand. Because, you Katerina, have a remarkable potential that I want to help you fulfill."
"I...think I understand…" she nodded with a watery smile. Harry smiled outwardly, even if internally, he scoffed. How could she understand what he had gone through? The things he had done? But she was of use, and true to his word, she did have a remarkable potential for greatness. "Thank you…"
"Anytime, Katerina. This is what friends are for, no? Any other projects you want help with?"
"I think...your methods have given me enough motivation to try much harder before seeking your help," she proffered uneasily, causing him to chuckle. "But I'm planning to brew a Euphoric potion for potions, and hatch a diggle for creatures. I'm honestly not sure about the others, though I'll probably try for battle transfiguration?"
"I'd recommend against the latter, your talent is clearly on the charms side of magical combat, don't waste your efforts in attempting battle transfiguration," Harry suggested clinically. "For potions, that would probably a passable, maybe a merit if the professor's feeling generous. Try and come up with something better."
"Well what are you doing?" she challenged. He shrugged.
"I've been here a bit over a week, what makes you think that I have anything planned?"
"Call it a gut feeling."
"I have a few ideas. Definitely battle transfiguration, I'm going to try a translation matrix for runes, the cruciatus should be sufficient for the dark arts...that's about it so far," Harry admitted. She nodded along.
"A cruciatus would definitely get you an honour in fourth year. I'm not advanced in runes to comment, though I swear translation should be impossible, and battle transfiguration probably will be your forte," she appraised. "Now you make me feel inadequate."
"Get used to it," he teased, causing her to scoff amused.
"In your dreams...don't you dare say it."
"You're welcome over any night," he chuckled, causing her to huff annoyed.
-Break-
"Very good, Rose," Dumbledore praised as the young girl cast a petrificus totalus at him. He shielded it easily. "But you will have to do better than that."
"Lumos! Lacero! Stupefy!" she cast in quick succession. A bright flash of light engulfed the room as two spells fired towards Dumbledore, who shielded against it easily. When the light had faded, Rose was hunched over, breathing heavily and visibly shaking. Dumbledore hadn't even formed a drop of sweat, and summoned over two chairs from the side of the room, which she sat on, nodding gratefully.
"You've performed wonderfully, Rose. I am very proud of you," he praised, causing the girl to beam. "For a ten year old to perform as well as you is most impressive."
"Thank you uncle Albus," she chirped, just as Lily Potter entered the room with a smile, handing Dumbledore a cup of hot cocoa and a sandwich.
"Thank you Lily, hello James," he greeted the two Potter adults. "How are you doing?"
"Oh, the usual, Albus. James making a mess with the boys and me cleaning up after them," Lily mused dryly. Rose giggled at this, causing James to shoot her a betrayed look, to which she just stuck out her tongue. "Thank you again for agreeing to do this."
"Nonsense, it's a pleasure to teach one so eager," Dumbledore chuckled. Before he continued, there was a blast from another part of the house, and with apologetic looks, both parents hastily left the room. "Ah, to live a life so young."
"Uncle…" Rose asked tentatively, shuffling her feet. When she looked up, he was haunted by the pleading eyes of another Potter child, "can you tell me about Harry? Mum and dad always clamp up whenever I bring him up...and I only have faint memories..."
"I…" seeing the pleading look the girl had, he sighed. "Alright, but I ask you not to interrupt."
She nodded, showing her understanding. "Your brother Harry...he was quite a remarkable child. He was speaking at the age of one, an incredible achievement for any toddler, but more than that, he was already able to read. To what extent, I do not know, but needless to say, he was the most remarkable child I have ever met. He was always so protective of you when you were young, Lily was always jealous that you'd always go to him first whenever you were hurt."
He paused, taking a sip of chocolate, resisting the tears that formed in his eyes. "After that night...you know what happened to Lily, and James...he was a broken man. He...wasn't able to care for your brother, and so Harry was sent of to your aunt and uncle."
Dumbledore swallowed, forcing the next words out of his mouth. "He was treated worse than the most mistreated house elf. Your aunt and uncle...they abused him...and then threw him away…"
Rose watched with wide eyes as Dumbledore shed several tears. "We didn't even suspect...not until Lily woke up and forced us to retrieve Harry...but by then it was too late…"
"It's my fault, isn't it?" Rose sobbed. "If it weren't for me, daddy wouldn't have gone mad, and Harry would still be with us!"
"No! Don't say that," Dumbledore denied vehemently. "Your brother loved you with every fiber of his being."
"But...but you'll find him, right? And then our family will be complete again, right?" she pleaded desperately, her voice breaking. It tore Dumbledore's heart, to give any false hope. Harry might well be dead in an unmarked grave, vaporised in the horrible incident in Horat, or gone in another hundred possibilities. More likely than not, he had perished in the Soviet Union. Yet, Dumbledore merely nodded, forcing a smile to his lips. Better false hope than no hope, no?
Author Note:
First chapter of the day. Before I go on, thank you again for the incredible support! When I logged off to sleep yesterday, I was prepared for one of the worst days in the fic thus far, yet by the time I woke up, you all had pushed its view and visitor count to nearly record breaking. For that, I thank each and every one of you!
I definitely feel that I'm hitting my stride, exploring more magic. We've set up several plot threads to explore, which should be more than sufficient to occupy the half year until we move on to Harry's fifth. To AWhiteLight, thank youo for the kind words, I'm definitely happy to give it a try, as seen in this chapter. Let me know how it fits in and whether I should continue doing such! I definitely agree that there were off chapters, I am a self-acknowledged beginner in fanfic writing, and there will be missteps. Thank you for sticking around!
On that note, everyone, if I do something poorly, don't hesitate to call me out for it! I won't be offended, but rather grateful to you for helping me improve my writing. If you liked a particular stylictic point or plot thread, comment on it, and I'll accommodate by explanding exploration on it. This fic is our fic (communist music here) and our journey. I'm hoping to one day go back and remaster older chapters, so any feedback helps!
Hopefully you enjoyed reading the magic classes. I've tried to set them up so they won't all be exposition or boring 'do this magic until the end of the class'. I've always felt that practicing magic should be homework, with discussions and demonstrations of magic taking up class time. This philosophy is reflected in Durmstrang, and definitely a bit different to Canon. Like it? Dislike it? I'll stress again your feedback is vital to helping me improve the story and as an author. Sorry if it's getting repetitive, but the truth is I'm flying blind here and I need your help.
As always, favourite, follow, share and leave a comment, even if just to say hi! Until next time, toodles!